Knockdown umbrella



Nov. 17, 1964 N. HAMMER xnocxnowu UMBRELLA 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Nov. 6. 1961 Nov. 17, 1964 N. HAMMER xuocxnown UMBRELLA 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed NOV. 6, 1961 United States Patent 3,157,186 KN OCKDQWN UMBRELLA Nathan Hammer, 29 Ailen St., New York, I .Y. Filed Nov. 6, 1961, Ser. No. 150,567 4. Claims. (Cl. 135-20) The invention relates in general to umbrellas, the term 7 the art and the use of tools of the art was available.

It it an object of the invention to provide umbrellas with ribs and covers which are easily replaceable by a user without tools and knowledge of the art.

Another object of'the invention is to provide an umbrella with easily changeable covers of various colors and figure designs for changing umbrella covers to harmonize with any of various colored costumes.

A feature of the invention is a means for selectively and individually detaching any of the ribs in the umbrella in need of replacement, thereby preventing the possible release and disengagement of all the ribs when replacing only one.

Another feature of the invention is the provision of flexible means for preventing breakage when the umbrella is blown inside outin a storm.

Other features and objects and a complete compre hension of the invention may be had by referring to the following description and claims, together with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of an umbrella shown partially expanded, and according to the invention, FIG. 1A is an enlargement of a small portion of FIG. 1,

FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along the section line 22 of FIG. 1,

FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional View taken along section line 3-3 of FIG. 1,

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along section line 4--4 of FIG. 3,

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along section line 55 of FIG. 3 showing retaining discs with indentations in registration, v

FIG. 5a is a cross-sectional view similar to FIG. 5 showing the retaining disc with indentations out of registration; and

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along section line 6-6 of FIG. 3.

Referring to FIG. 1 the invention comprises an umbrella 10 having a shaft 12 with screw threads on oppositely disposed ends, respectively designated the fer.- rule 14 (FIG. 2) and handle 16 ends. Ribs 18, with stretchers 26B pivotally attached intermediate rib ends 22 and 24, are mounted on the shaft 12 by spider means 26 and 28, so that the ribs can be pivoted simultaneously from rib positions approximately parallel to shaft 12, to rib positions approximately normal to the shaft 12 and adjacent end 14 thereof. A flexible annular cover 30 is engaged by a center hole on the shaft 12 intermediate its ends and adjacent. shaft end 14, and the cover perim- 3,157,186 Patented. Nov. 17, 1964 'ice eter is fastened to rib tips 31 bonded to the free ends 24 of the ribs 18.

Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3 the first spider means 26 comprises a spider 32, having an elongated hub portion 34 shown in cross-section in FIG. 2. An external screw thread 36 is defined adjacentone end of the hub portion 34 and arms 38 radiate outwardly from adjacent the other hub portion end. The arms 38 are equally spaced around the hub portion 34 and define longitudinal slots 49 therebetween. An annular groove 42 is defined in the radial arms 38, normal to'the slots 40 and open toward the screw thread 36. The spider 32 is positioned on the shaft 12 by sliding it, arms end first, over the shaft end 14 to a first shoulder stop 44. A first groove-closing annular disc 46, made of a resilient rubber-like material and adapted to rotatably fit on the spider hub portion 34, closes groove 42 except for a selected distance left open by an indentation 48 defined in the disc edge. A second groove-closing annular disc Sii, made of rigid material and smaller in outer diameter and thickness and defining an indentation 49, similar to indentation 48, is superposed on the disc 46. The two discs 46 and 5% together close the entire annular groove unless the discs are rotatably positioned for the indentations 49 and 4am coincide or register and thereby open the groove for the extent of the registered indentations only. A retaining nut 52 engages the hub portion screw thread 36 an dlocks the discs against the arms 38. The end of retaining nut 52, adjacent the annular disc 50, is recessed to define a spring cage 54. A coil spring 56 mounted in the spring cage 54 biases the discs 46 and 48 against the spider arms 38 when the nut is loosened thereby preventing the discs from moving longitudinally away from the groove 42. An end tapped ferrule e0 engages screw threadsof the shaft end 14 and fixes the first spider means 26 on shaft 12 between the stop 44 and the ferrule 66.

The second spider means 23 also has a spider 32 slidably mounted, arms 33 end first, on shaft 12 over the opposite shaft end 16. The spiders 32 of spider means 26 and 28 are thus mounted on the shaft 12 with their respective arms 38ends opposed. Groove closing discs 46 and 56 are provided and employed in cooperation with the spider 32 of the second spider means 28 as described for first spiderrneans 26. A retaining nut 62 differs from the retaining nut 52 of the first spider means 26' in that a compression locking device for electively locking the slidablespider means against sliding on the shaft 12 is fastened to the nut 62. This com pression locking device comprises'in combination an end portion 64 on the nut 62 that longitudinally extends toward the handle end 16 of the shaft 12 and defines an interior packing recess opening outward and an exterior screw thread. An' elastomer packing ring 66 fits into the recess and extends longitudinally outward therefrom; The externally threaded end portion 64 engages a knurled annular nut 68,.tha-t is internally threaded complementary thereto. The knurled nut 68 engages and compresses the packing ring 66 in the recess to frictionally lock the sliding spider means any place on the shaft 12: between the handle end.16 and shaft shoulder stop 69.

The annular cover 30 is formed of any flexible material with: a center hole 70 reinforced by a grommet 71 and reinforcing strips 72 and 74. The center hole 70 is adapted to fit over the shaft end 14. and to be engaged between the. ferrule hit and the washer 58 mounted the hub. portion. 34 of the fixed spider means a 26. The outer perimeter of the cover 39 has grommets 76 spaced therearound according to the spacing of the rib end 24 when the ribs 13 are in rib position normal to said shaft.

The rib ends 22 are respectively bonded to tip means 78 comprising connecting oblong-in-cross-section connecting pins '79 and integral ball tips iii). The rib ends 24 are respectively bonded to round ended arrow shaped tips 82 having cylindrical shoulder stops 84. The free ends of the stretchers 20 are respectively bonded to tip means '73 as are the rib ends 22. The ribs 18 and stretchers 2d are pivotally attached to the shaft 12 by loosening the retaining nuts 52 and 62, registering the indentations 48 and 49 of the discs 46 and t successively over each slot of the spider 32, and successively inserting the ball tips of the tip means in sequential order in the groove 42 of the spider 32 of the spider means 26 and those of the stretchers similarly in the groove 4-2 of the spider 32 of the spider means 28. The oblong-in-crosssection connecting pins 79 respectively and sequentially engage in the slots defined between arms 38. The spring 56 bias the discs against the arms 38 and this keeps the engaged tip means from disengaging from the grooves 42 and the slots between arms 38. The connecting pins 79 respectively extend through the respective slots between the arms 38 of the spiders 32 and thus hold each rib and associated stretcher in approximate alignment. When all the balls 8d are positioned in grooves 42 and the connecting pins 82 in respective slots of the spider 32 the discs are rotated to bring the indentations out of register and the retaining nuts 52 and 62 are tightened to lock the discs over the grooves 42. The resilient discs :6 are deformable by the connecting pins 79 when the umbrella is blown inside out in a storm. The structural integrity of the connecting pins is thereby retained and the ribs can be returned to their normal positions without being damaged either by the wind or the restoring force. The arrow shaped rib tips 31 respectively engage in the cover perimeter grommets 76 up to the cylindrical shoulder stop 84.

Although the invention has been described with a certain degree of particularity, it is understood that the present disclosure has been made only by way of example and that numerous changes in the details of construction and the combination and arrangements of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and the scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A knockdown umbrella, having a frame erectable and collapsible to normal open and closed positions and a cover, with a center hole and outer perimeter, attached to said frame, characterized in that said frame comprises; a shaft having oppositely disposed handle and ferrule ends, said ferrule end being threaded and having a stop spaced from the end, a ferrule threadably engaged on said ferrule end, a first spider means slidably engaged on said ferrule end and fixed thereon between said stop and said ferrule, a handle removably secured on said handle end of the shaft, a second spider means, oppositely disposed to said first spider means, slidably mounted on the shaft, compression locking means secured to said second spider and manually operable to lock said second spider to said shaft in selected position, ribs and individually associated stretchers having oppositely disposed ends, each said stretchers being pivoted by one of its oppositely disposed ends inter mediate the oppositely disposed ends of an associated rib, ball tip means integral with the other of said stretcher ends and one of said rib ends for respectively engaging said second and first spider means, said spider means co-operating to pivotally engage said tip means in independently releasable relationship, each of said spider means comprising an annular hub with one end portion of larger diameter and the opposite end portion of smaller diameter with a shoulder between said end porl tions, said larger end portion being slotted to receive said stretcher and rib ends respectively and having an annular groove of curved cross-section in said shoulder to receive said ball tip means, the smaller end portion of said hub being threaded, first annular washer of elastomeric material slidable over said smaller end portion and engageable with said ball tip means to retain said tip means in said groove, a second annular washer of hard material overlying said first washer, a nut screwed on said threaded smaller end, said nut having an annular flange portion engageable with said second washer and an annular recess inside said flange portion, and a compression spring in said annular recess and acting between said nut and said second washer to press said washers toward said larger end portion, said nut being screwed away from said washers to permit movement of said washers away from said shoulder against the force of said spring resiliently to release said tip means individually from said groove, and shoulder-forming means fixed adjacent the other of said rib ends for engaging the perimeter of said cover, said ferrule threadably engaged on said ferrule end of the shaft engaging the cover around said center hole and said cover comprises a flexible body having eyelets geometrically spaced around the perimeter of said cover and adapted to slip over the other ends of said rib and to engage said shoulder-forming means, a center grommet secured around said center hole and adapted to slip over the ferrule end of said shaft but not over said ferrule, whereby said cover is readily releasable from said frame, and said ribs and associated stretchers are independently releasable from said spider means, and said spider means from said shaft.

2. A knockdown umbrella as described in claim 1 wherein said compression locking means comprises an end portion on the nut of said second spider extending longitudinally toward said handle end of the shaft, said end portion being exteriorly threaded and interiorly recessed to define an annular space between said shaft and said end portion, an elastomer annular member adapted to slidably fit around said shaft and into said annular space and to extend longitudinally beyond said end portion; an annular cup-shaped nut, internally threaded to engage the external threads of said end portion and adapted when rotated in one direction to compress said annular elastomer member in said annular space and thereby frictionally lock said second spider in its position until released by rotating said annular nut in the opposite direction.

3. A knockdown umbrella as described in claim 1 wherein said ball tip means adapted to fit into said curved in cross-section groove of said spider are joined to said respective frame and stretcher ends by an oblong in cross-section connecting portion adapted to fit into the slots of said spider, said connecting portion having a greater depth than width for substantially engaging in said slots to hold said ribs and stretchers against turning.

4. In an umbrella comprising a shaft having a handle at one end, a first spider secured near the opposite end of said shaft, a plurality of ribs pivotally mounted in said spider, a second spider slidable on said shaft, a plurality of stretchers having one end pivotally held by said second spider and an opposite end pivotally connected to a respective rib, compression locking means for releasably securing said second spider in selected position on said shaft, comprising an end portion of said second spider extending toward said handle, said end portion being exteriorly threaded and interiorly recessed to define an annular space between said shaft and said end portion, a continuous annular member of readily deformable elastomeric material adapted to slidably fit around said shaft and into said annular space and to extend longitudinally beyond said end portion; an annular cup-shaped nut, internally threaded to engage the external threads of said end portion and adapted when rotated in one direction to apply pressure to said annular elastomeric member in an axial direction and thereby deform said member to frictionally lock said second spider in its position until released by rotating said annular nut in the opposite di rection whereupon said elastomeric member elastically resumes its original form.

References (Iited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 263,733

Simpson 135-30 Fesenfeld 13530 Feller 135-34 Redell 287-116 X E FOREIGN PATENTS Sweden.

HARRISON R. MOSELEY, Primary Examiner.

9/82 Sill 135-29 VD. J. STOCKING, Examiner. 

4. IN AN UMBRELLA COMPRISING A SHAFT HAVING A HANDLE AT ONE END, A FIRST SPIDER SECURED NEAR THE OPPOSITE END OF SAID SHAFT, A PLURALITY OF RIBS PIVOTALLY MOUNTED IN SAID SPIDER, A SECOND SPIDER SLIDABLE ON SAID SHAFT, A PLURALITY OF STRETCHERS HAVING ONE END PIVOTALLY HELD BY SAID SECOND SPIDER AND AN OPPOSITE END PIVOTALLY CONNECTED TO A RESPECTIVE RIB, COMPRESSION LOCKING MEANS FOR RELEASABLY SECURING SAID SECOND SPIDER IN SELECTED POSITION ON SAID SHAFT, COMPRISING AN END PORTION OF SAID SECOND SPIDER EXTENDING TOWARD SAID HANDLE, SAID END PORTION BEING EXTERIORLY THREADED AND INTERIORLY RECESSED TO DEFINE AN ANNULAR SPACE BETWEEN SAID SHAFT AND SAID END PORTION, A CONTINUOUS ANNULAR MEMBER OF READILY DEFORMABLE ELASTOMERIC MATERIAL ADAPTED TO SLIDABLY FIT AROUND SAID SHAFT AND INTO SAID ANNULAR SPACE AND TO EXTEND LONGITUDINALLY 